


Iliad High School

by Peggy_Cherepaha



Category: The Iliad - Homer
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Football, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Possible Achilles/Patroclus, Suicide, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 10:23:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5413259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peggy_Cherepaha/pseuds/Peggy_Cherepaha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A modern rewrite of The Iliad set in a high school and dealing with suicide and bullying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Iliad High School

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as an assignment for my English class. I'm posting it here to see if it gains any popularity.  
> My tumblr is peggy-cherepaha.tumblr.com

“When will this end, Achilles?” Principal Priam asked. “Just last week you were in here for fighting Agamemnon-”

“Only because he wouldn’t leave Briseis alone. You want me to just sit there while some creep keeps hitting on my friend?” Instead of answering Achilles’ question, Priam continued.

“And now you’ve given poor Paris a bloody nose for just some harmless teasing.”

“Yeah, because calling my best friend a faggot is just teasing.”

“Now Achilles, let’s not use such language.”

Achilles glanced over at Paris, who looked smug despite having run crying and bloody to his dad instead of at least standing behind his words.

Priam was still talking. “You know we don’t tolerate bullying in this school.”

“I’m not the bully!” Achilles’ temper was flaring. “Your son and his gang are the ones starting fights!”

“Achilles, if there were in fact students bullying Patroclus like you say, then why didn’t you tell an administrator?”

“Because when I told you about how they said they were going to kill him for being a gay whore you didn’t give a damn!”

“Achilles! Watch your mouth! You should speak to me with respect.”

Before Priam could get really mad, Achilles’ English teacher, Menelaus, stepped into the office.

“Excuse me, sir, but I saw the whole incident.” Priam and Menelaus had some history and so Menelaus always tried to stand up for his favorite student when Paris was involved. 

“I think this is just the result of some miscommunication,” Menelaus told Priam. “I don’t think either boy is fully responsible.”

Priam considered this for a moment. “In that case, I won’t suspend you, Achilles. But if you have one more incident, I will have no choice but to prohibit you from playing football next year.” As much as Achilles didn’t want to face Paris’s big brother Hector, who would probably be the team captain next year, Achilles could really use an athletic scholarship. Hector and Achilles hadn’t gotten into any fights. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he spoke to him, but Hector was protective of his brother and always took his side, no matter how cruel he acted. Achilles tried to avoid both brothers but the tension was there nonetheless.

“I’ll try my best.” Achilles stood and gave Menelaus a soft ‘thank you’ on his way out.

***

After school, Achilles walked outside the main entrance where there was a courtyard kids liked to hang out at. He saw that Odysseus was already waiting for him, leaning against a brick wall. He’s not quite sure how they became friends, since they had completely different social circles, but Achilles always valued his opinions. Odysseus wasn’t the best at school, but he had amazing street smarts and was one of the few people that could help Achilles act rationally when he got hot-headed.

“So what happened to the Princes?” Odysseus asked him. “I saw Hector chewing Paris out for something.” 

The brothers had gotten the nickname in part because they were the Principal's sons and in part because Paris, despite being a sophomore, was the crush of most of the girls in the school. While Paris’ crushes used the name endearingly, many used it mockingly. There was no denying that Priam was biased, and while Paris’ friends loved getting away with anything scot-free, everyone else hated the family and their friends.

“Paris and his friends were calling Patroclus a fag again. I finally got mad enough to hit him this time but he went and ran off to Daddy.” Achilles spit out the last word, and tried to calm down before he hit the brick wall.

“Ugh, I hate fuckboys,” Briseis said, having overheard them. Achilles hadn’t known her long, but Briseis was a good friend and Achilles couldn’t help but be a little overprotective of her, seeing as many undesirable boys were enamored with her. “Paris was talking about what he wants to do to Ms. Helen. And he was saying this during her class! I hope she couldn’t hear him ‘cause it was disgusting!” 

“Wait,” Odysseus said, seeming to be working something out in his head, “are you Menelaus’ favorite because you get in fights with the kid that hits on his wife?” Achilles was about to confirm this when he saw Patroclus quickly walking past them away from the school.

“Gotta go, guys,” Achilles said and ran after Patroclus. They were neighbors and almost always walked home together, so Achilles didn’t know why his best friend seemed to be avoiding him.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Achilles asked. Patroclus looked up, a bit startled.

“Nowhere, I just...nothing.” His shoulders were tense and Achilles knew something was wrong.

“Why don’t you come over? You can help me with my math homework.”

“You know I’m not any better at math than you. You should’ve asked Odysseus.” Patroclus seemed to know that Achilles was doing but walked with Achilles to his house regardless. They passed by the coast near their neighborhood where the beach was nearly deserted. The ocean had been uneasy and dangerous recently, with frequent riptides. Usually looking out at the beach reminded Achilles of long days building sand castles and splashing in the water as a kids. Now, he couldn’t help but feel that the churning water and gray clouds were suffocating him.

He watched Patroclus as they walked and it was like he had been told that he had to jump in the water. His face was slightly pale and he had a strange look in his eyes. Achilles instinctively wrapped his arm around his friend.

“Come on, let’s try to enjoy the rest of the day.” He gave Patroclus a large smile but, instead of smiling back, Patroclus shrugged his arm off.

“I’m fine, I just feel a little sick.” Achilles didn’t believe it for a second but he didn’t know what else to do. Despite not ever wanting to hurt anyone, Achilles’ temper had given him the reputation of being violent. But this was one problem that he couldn’t fight his way out of.

“I’m going home,” Patroclus said, and Achilles watched helplessly as his friend walked away, his stomach as uneasy as the ocean.

*** 

Achilles had been waiting by the entrance of the school for over ten minutes and he still hadn’t seen Patroclus. He figured he could start walking in the direction of his friend’s last class to run into him. As he walked down the hall, he could hear some sort of commotion going on. His stomach dropped and he froze for a moment when he got close enough to hear what was happening.

“What’s wrong, Patty? I’d think a fag like you would be used to being on his knees.” This was followed by laughter as Achilles ran around the corner. He found Patroclus trying to stand back up while holding his bloody nose. Achilles didn’t recognize the two boys that were laughing but he did recognize the team’s running back standing over Patroclus and sporting a black eye.

One of the boys noticed Achilles and said, “Look who it is. Come to save your twink?” Achilles felt his blood boil and swung at him. He got a good hit in but the bullies ran away before they could get into a real fight. Achilles pulled Patroclus up and hugged him for a moment before Patroclus broke the embrace to punch him lightly in the chest.

“Idiot. They did this to get to you. Now you can’t be on the team.”

“I don’t care, it was worth it.”

“Worth it?” Patroclus’ face got red and he looked like he might start crying. “Now you can’t get an athletic scholarship. I’m not worth you not being able to go to the college you want!” Achilles was shocked. and didn’t know what to say. Did Patroclus really think so little of himself?

He decided to once again pull his friend into a tight embrace.

“Don’t say that. You’re my closest friend and we’ve been through so much together. You’re worth more to me than anything else. Don’t ever think I wouldn’t do anything for you.” Patroclus’ cheeks flushed and he pulled himself out of the embrace, heading toward the exit with Achilles by his side.

***

“I want to try out for the team,” Patroclus told Achilles one hot spring afternoon while they were throwing a football back and forth. As far as Achilles knew, Patroclus hadn’t been bullied since those boys beat him up a few months ago. Still, Achilles was stunned enough to miss Patroclus’ throw.

“Why do you want to join all of a sudden? I thought you hated the team.”

“I don’t hate all of them, it’s just a few guys.” Achilles left the ball on the ground to walk up to his friend.

“You’re not just saying this because you feel like you have to prove something, are you?” 

“No, I’ve always wanted to be on the team, and with you gone they’ll need another wide receiver. It’s almost senior year so it’s now or never.”

“I don’t know, Patroclus-”

“Come on,” Patroclus said, playfully pushing Achilles out of the way so that he could retrieve the ball. “I can run and throw just as well as you, and I’m nearly as strong, so it’ll be no problem getting on the team.” It was true that Patroclus had always been very athletic, but Achilles still had his reservations.

“I didn’t mean that, I meant that you know the guys are going to give you trouble.”

“Thanks, mom, but I think I can handle it. I’m friends with Diomedes and Ajax, and Hector hates you, not me.”

“Fine,” Achilles relented, “if you really want to I can’t stop you. But at least take this.” Achilles pulled his necklace off and handed it to Patroclus. It was just a simple gold chain but Achilles had been wearing it nearly every day in high school, especially on game days.

“I can’t take this, it’s your lucky charm.”

“Which is exactly why you should take it. I won’t be needing it anytime soon.” Patroclus carefully took the necklace and slipped it on.

“I won’t let you down,” he said, and the boys resumed their game.

***

On the first day of tryouts, Patroclus felt a bit uneasy. The sun was completely blotted out by dark storm clouds and the air was muggy. He had been doing training with Achilles so he wasn’t too worried about getting a wide receiver position; he was more worried about the kids that would be happy to gang up on him. As he walked onto the field, he spotted Diomedes and Ajax, the team’s best linebackers that did body-building as a casual pastime.

“It looks like there’s going to be a storm so let’s get in as much practice as we can,” the coach said. Everyone was grouped up and the tryouts started. Patroclus felt confident about his athleticism, performing the drills with relative ease. He was definitely better off than the boys that got distracted by some stray doves and tried to throw footballs at them. As far as Patroclus knew, doves weren’t even native to their city, so it was definitely an odd sight.

The practice ended up being cut ten minutes early when lightning suddenly cracked across the sky, followed by thunder and a downpour. The boys headed back towards the locker room, except for Diomedes who insisted that they could still practice before he was dragged off by the coach.

Patroclus tried to quickly change in the locker room but as he tried to leave, his path was blocked by three of his teammates, one of which was the boy that beat up Patroclus to try to get to Achilles.

“And where’s the little fairy trying to go? We didn’t finish what we started yesterday.” He knew that he couldn’t fight all three of them off so Patroclus tried to turn and run for help but one of them grabbed him around the waist and slammed him to the ground. He tried to yell for his friends but someone grabbed his hair and hit his head against a locker, stunning him into silence.

“Look at this,” one of the guys said as he dragged Patroclus back up by the shirt collar. “His boyfriend gave him a present.” They all laughed but Patroclus didn’t know what they were talking about until a hand wrapped around his necklace and pulled it, trying to choke him. Thankfully the necklace broke and as Patroclus fell to the ground he was finally able to call for help. There was commotion and yelling as the rest of the team came to see what was happening.

Ajax and Diomedes helped Patroclus up and offered to call his parents. Patroclus kept his head down, knowing that seeing the concern on their faces would just make everything more difficult.

“No, it’s done,” Patroclus said. “I’m done.” If the two caught on to what he really meant, they didn’t show it. They tried to walk home with Patroclus but he was able to evade them and finally get out of the locker room. He didn’t bother to use his umbrella once he was outside, instead letting the rain seep through his clothes, feeling the chill deep in his bones during the long walk.

***

Achilles ran through the hospital, trying to avoid running into carts and hospital staff. He finally arrived at the correct room and almost knocked the door down in his haste to open it. The scene before him seemed unreal and it took him a moment to process. In the center of the room was a standard hospital bed with a figure covered in a white sheet on it. Achilles slowly reached toward the top of the sheet, praying that this was all just a big misunderstanding and that he wouldn’t recognize the person underneath. 

When he finally pulled the sheet back and saw his best friend lying there pale and lifeless, he collapsed onto a chair next to the bed, sobs wracking his body. A doctor he had vaguely noticed on his way in stepped into the room. Achilles could hardly register what he was saying.

“-bottles of anti-depressants and sleeping pills that were in his house. By the time the ambulance arrived here it was too late.”

“No,” Achilles said, trying to calm his crying. “No, he wouldn’t...Patroclus wouldn’t just do this. He knew I cared about him, he had friends he had no reason to just…” Achilles couldn’t bring himself to say the word for fear that it would confirm his worst fears. 

He looked behind him to look at the doctor and, to his surprise, saw that Hector was standing just outside the room, his head down to give Achilles some privacy.

“The fuck are you doing here?” Achilles’ sorrow was quickly replaced by his temper as he stood up to face his classmate. Hector looked up and slowly approached Achilles.

“I’m so sorry, Achilles. I can’t imagine...I know how much he meant to you.” Hector opened his hand and offered something to Achilles. He looked closer to see that it was the necklace he had given Patroclus.

“Why the hell do you have this!” Achilles snatched the necklace out of Hector’s hand. Hector had the nerve to look surprised.

“They took it from him. I tried to give it back but he left in such a hurry and-”

“You did this!” Achilles felt his muscles tense and he saw red. “You’re the reason he did this and you have the nerve to just waltz in here!”

“Please, Achilles, calm down.” Hector kept trying to plead but Achilles wouldn’t hear it. He punched Hector right in the nose and tackled him to the ground. He was able to get a few more swings in before hospital security flooded the room and dragged him off.

***

It had been a week since Patroclus had died and the school had an eerie feel to it. There wasn’t the usual loud chatter in the halls or during lunch; people instead talked quietly or not at all. Despite this, fights often broke out, with Patroclus’ friends demanding retribution from anyone that had ever made fun of him. The one thing the entire school could agree on was that the media had no right to try to make his death into a profit. Students would spit on news trucks and tell reporters to fuck off whenever they came near the school.

Hector sat down in his first class and gingerly felt where the bruises on his face were still fading. Achilles had been arrested for assault and while Hector didn’t press charges, Priam still suspended Achilles for the rest of the year. That’s why he was so surprised when Achilles stormed into the classroom, wielding a pistol. The screams of his classmates were drowned out by a loud bang and a ringing in Hector’s ear. Then came the pain, blossoming in his chest and spreading out through his limbs. He tried to stand, to do something, but he lost control of his muscles and fell to the ground, the screaming and ringing getting quieter until everything went black.


End file.
